Wikipedia

780 Naval Air Squadron

780 Naval Air Squadron(780 NAS) was aFleet Air Arm(FAA)naval air squadronof the United Kingdom’sRoyal Navy(RN) which last disbanded at HMSSeahawk,RNAS Culdrose in November 1949. 780 Naval Air Squadron formed at HMSRaven,RNAS Eastleigh as aConversion Course Unit,in October 1939, to train experienced civilian pilots in naval flying. It moved to HMSDaedalus,RNAS Lee-on-Solent, in October 1940, and later, its role had changed to converting pilots to Fairey Barracuda aircraft. It spent a year at RNAS Charlton Horethorne, before returning to HMSDaedalusand disbanded, early 1945. In March 1946, the squadron reformed at HMSGodwit,RNAS Hinstock, as theNaval Advanced Flying School,to give flying instructors' courses, and later provided Instrument Flying Training. In December, the squadron moved to HMSJackdaw,RNAS Crail, then in March 1947 moved to HMSMerlin,RNAS Donibristle, and in May to HMSSeahawkas the first resident unit.

780 Naval Air Squadron
North American Harvard,an example of the type used by 780 NAS
Active2 October 1939 - 2 January 1945
28 March 1946 - 16 November 1949[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role
  • Conversion Course Unit
  • Naval Advanced Flying School
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Home stationSeeNaval air stationssection for full list.
AircraftSeeAircraft operatedsection for full list.
Insignia
Identification Markingsindividual numbers
L1A+(1943)
BY1A+(October 1943)
L1A+(November 1944)
U1A+toU3A+(March 1946)
201-206(Harvard1947)
601-614(Oxford1947)[2][3]
Fin Shore CodesCW(1947)[4]

History

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Conversion Course Unit (1939–1945)

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780 Naval Air Squadron formed atRNAS Eastleigh (HMSRaven),Hampshire,on 2 October 1939, as a Conversion Course Unit.[5]The squadron was tasked with training experienced civilian pilots in naval flying and it operated a variety of aircraft, includingHawker HartTrainer, a two-seat dual-controltrainer aircraft,Hawker Nimrod,a Britishbiplanefighter aircraft,Blackburn Shark,a biplanetorpedo bomber,de Havilland Gipsy Moth,a biplane trainer aircraft,de Havilland Tiger Moth,a biplane trainer aircraft,Percival Proctor,a radio trainer and communications aircraft,Fairey Swordfish,a biplane torpedo bomber andPercival Vega Gull,a military trainer and communications aircraft.[2]Essentially this was a mixture of obsolete and civil aircraft and the expectation was this task would be completed within a few months, however, other types of conversion was required.[6]

Fairey Barracuda Mk II

The squadron relocated toRNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMSDaedalus),in Hampshire, on 7 October 1940.[5]It usedHamble[7]as a relief landing ground[6]and by August 1943, its role had changed to converting pilots of Fairey Swordfish and another biplane torpedo bomber,Fairey Albacore,to the monoplaneFairey Barracudatorpedo anddive bomber,although this task soon passed to798 Naval Air Squadron.[2]On 9 October 1943, 780 Naval Air Squadron moved toRNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMSHeronII).[8]With the upcominginvasion of occupied Francethere was a need to clear RNAS Lee-on-Solent and the area of training aircraft.[6]It moved back to RNAS Lee-on-Solent on 28 November 1944,[8]where it disbanded into794 Naval Air Squadron,[6]on 2 January 1945.[2]

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780 Naval Air Squadron reformed atRNAS Hinstock (HMSGodwit),inShropshire,England, on 28 March 1946, as the Naval Advanced Flying School,[9]but operated out of its satellite stationRNAS Peplow (HMSGodwitII),Shropshire.[10]It was equipped with a variety of aircraft and was set up to give flying instructors' courses.[6] It also received a number ofAvro Lancaster,a four-engineheavy bomber,which were initially destined for734 Naval Air Squadronat HMSGodwit,[11]used for multi-engine experience.758 Naval Air Squadrondisbanded and was absorbed in May as 'B' Flight, of 780 NAS, and Instrument Flying Training at this point had become the squadron’s focus. In December the squadron moved to Scotland, relocating toRNAS Crail (HMSJackdaw),Fife,for a short stay before moving toRNAS Donibristle (HMSMerlin)in March 1947 and then in May toRNAS Culdrose (HMSSeahawk),Cornwall,as the initial unit there. On 16 November 1949, 780 Naval Air Squadron disbanded.[6]

Aircraft operated

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The squadron operated a number of different aircraft types, including:[4]

Hawker Hart Trainer
de Havilland Tiger Moth
Airspeed Oxford
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780 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number ofnaval air stations of the Royal Navy,in the United Kingdom:[4]

1939 - 1945

1946 - 1949

Commanding officers

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List ofcommanding officersof 780 Naval Air Squadron, with date of appointment:[2][4]

1939 - 1945

  • Lieutenant CommanderH.S. Cooper,RN,from 2 October 1939
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) J. Goodyear,RNVR,from 7 October 1940
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) T.G. Stubley, RNVR, from 17 August 1942
  • disbanded - 2 January 1945


1946 - 1949

  • Lieutenant Commander D.C.E.F. Gibson,DSC,RN, from 28 March 1946
  • Lieutenant(A) W.E. Cotton, RN, from 17 December 1946
  • Lieutenant S.P. Luke, RN, from 2 October 1947
  • Lieutenant Commander G.R. Humphries, RN, from 5 January 1948
  • Lieutenant(A) R.B. Lunberg, RN, from 16 November 1948
  • Lieutenant(A) M.A. Birrell, RN, from 31 March 1949
  • disbanded - 16 November 1949

References

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Citations

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  1. ^Sturtivant & Ballance 1994,p. 100.
  2. ^abcdeWragg 2019,p. 135.
  3. ^Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016,p. 82-83.
  4. ^abcdBallance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016,p. 83.
  5. ^ab"Eastleigh".Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day.Retrieved8 February2024.
  6. ^abcdefBallance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016,p. 82.
  7. ^"Hamble (Landplane) II - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust".Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust.Retrieved8 February2024.
  8. ^ab"Charlton Horethorne".Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day.Retrieved8 February2024.
  9. ^"Hinstock".Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day.Retrieved8 February2024.
  10. ^"Peplow".Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day.Retrieved8 February2024.
  11. ^"The Avro Lancaster in Royal Navy service".Royal Navy Research Archive.Retrieved8 February2024.

Bibliography

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